The Nightmare Before Christmas: A New Soul
by Werejaguar of Halloween Town
Summary: <html><head></head>Have you ever wondered what exactly happens to you after you die?  If there's more to the end than Heaven or Hell...maybe even a third option?  What if there was for each soul that has just a little something extra to it...  Rating will change over time..</html>
1. Opening

Disclaimer/Author's Note: Like any good fan, I would first like to clearly state that I don't own Nightmare Before Christmas in anyway. This wonderful poem turned movie was created by the slightly morbid yet artistic stop-motion film genius that is Tim Burton. Mr. Burton, if you or any of your friends/family are reading this than I would like to thank you for giving life to this beautiful brain child and for sharing it with the world. It's actually thanks to this film that I learned to get over my fears of the dark.

The Nightmare Before Christmas

'Twas a long time ago, longer now than it seems  
>In a place that perhaps you've seen in your dreams<p>

For the story that you are about to be told  
>Began within the holiday worlds of old<p>

Now, you've probably wondering why this sounds familiar to one  
>Of a certain skeleton's Christmas run<p>

But this is a different tale to discuss  
>Of a time before that great seasonal fuss!<p>

For the story begins at a time way back  
>To a meeting between a human<br>And our beloved Skeleton Jack…


	2. Fact or Fiction

Disclaimer/Author's Note:

Story © of **Veronica** a.k.a The Were-Jaguar of Halloweentown

Characters from The Nightmare Before Christmas © of Tim Burton and Skellington Productions

The Nightmare Before Christmas:

A New Soul

Every creature in existence is born with a soul…

A miniature candlelight that is housed deep within one's body yet unseen by the naked eye…

When the Earth was shaped long ago near the beginning of the universe by the Creator, a layer of existence was molded over the core that would become the realm of humanity. This layer split into seven even parts…seven different worlds…each born from what God deemed were to be life's most powerful emotional bases; Innocence, Love, Gratitude, Faith, Courage, Joy, and Fear*.

Slowly as the Earth grew and mankind came to be, something similar happened in each of these seven worlds. Each one became the realm of a special type of life parallel to mankind yet completely alien to it and the other planes that existed.

Sadly, the early beings of these realms have long since forgotten each other, believing that only their world and the human realm co-exist side by side.

The humans, however, have not forgotten but only believe that these other worlds are ancient myth and tales that are celebrated in good fun.

But really…. just how much is fiction… and how much is fact?

**M**agic… that's what made everything so changed and distinct every year when the more festive seasons commenced to roll in…at least, through the eyes of a child…. Candy was covered in tempting ginger and emerald wrappers, plush toys were fluffy with either raven or purple fur coats, and the summer watermelons somehow turned into giant pumpkins that piled all together to greet shoppers that walked into the markets throughout the week.

Magic blessed leaves that fell and danced in the cool air, painted the skies yawning shades of blue-violet with twinkling stars, and even carried the Moon down to place her radiant form atop gauzy clouds. Magic was what gave Veronica the giddy feeling of joy at the changes happening all around her. It was this feeling that made her want to squeal in excitement at the top of her lungs and dance around with her little sister through the candy aisles without a care in the world. The smiles on her parents' faces as they watched her and Diana wiggle into costume after costume was thanks to a small dose of the very same spell affecting their daughters. This was only a speck of the seasonal charm that touched mankind, for it grew with each autumn day, weakening the phantom barriers that led to and from the mortal realm until the day where they would remain completely lifted for a total of twenty-four hours.

Children and only a few adults were truly the only ones who possess the ability to let the influence in and see the unseen or know the unknown. However, the majority of humans exist ruled by feelings of skepticism and fear, and it's due to this state of mind that they've stopped their souls from embracing what they now grasp as a dream or childhood fantasy. Children, on the other hand, unknowingly are sponges that soak up bits and pieces of magic throughout their childhood until adulthood. These very same kids grow up to be the parents…parents of children with special souls destined for something greater than an existence on the mortal realm. Now, what the little girl's parents didn't know was just how truly special tonight was going to be for their daughters, especially for Veronica… For tonight was Halloween, and it wasn't going to be one she would _**ever**_ forget.

**F**ar away in a dimension hidden behind the veil was an entirely different Earth. The land was uneven with slopes, hills, and jagged edges naturally colored in dark shades. The sky was an endless shade of autumn blue-gray with a bright orange jack-o-lantern Sun that bathed the seemingly bleak land with light. The trees were either warped and bear with claw-like branches that twisted towards the sky and ground or full of reptilian green or poison purple leaves. Deadly shrubs and flowers grew in small patches beside the beaten terrain that snaked through the Hitherlands and out of the forest.

Following this trail would have travelers ascend the back of a massive hill where they would encounter a sole being, an eerie jack-o-lantern headed scarecrow that stood at a turn in the road. The sign tied to its post was well-worn and etched deeply upon its surface as if by the claw of some horrid beast was a simple name, HalloweenTown. A mysterious wind blew as if it were the very breath of the Hitherlands and whipped the scarecrow around, its thorny finger-like branches pointed towards the path. This path was unlike the one before, for it was paved in cool gray stones and fell twisting its way down the hills en route to a town beyond human comprehension. For this nightmarish yet enchanting place was none other than HalloweenTown.

Living dreads, frights, and horrors worked the cobblestone streets in excitement for the night to come. Ghouls scampered about pushing carts filled to the brim with freshly made treats, Corpses gathered baskets of blood red apples for bobbing while trying to thwart the weight of the apples from snapping off their limbs, Werewolves hacked and slashed at pumpkins of all sizes carving faces ranging from silly to ghastly, and Vampires practiced their flight routines one last time within the security of their homes away from the sun. Thousands of different creatures covered every inch of the town's square working hard with pride and glee at the thought of the fruits of their labor.

This was their greatest joy, something that they prepared for every other 364 days of the year. It was their gift to the humans; a taste of what lay on the other side, of the deeper mysteries of the dark, and a reminder that there is always something more powerful than them in existence. Yes, they could feel it deep within their souls that something extra special would happen tonight, but then again every Halloween was special. They all "lived" for the sound of screams and laughter as they paraded through the World of the Living each year since the early beginning of their world.

The fuss of the town centered itself in the square; its sounds crept through the streets like tentacles coiling around each and every unsettling building within reach. However, there was one structure, aside from the Town Hall, that seen to make the buzz all the more meaningful to the hard working citizens. Any outsider would notice how often each of these creatures would quickly cast a look in the direction of the building and how each glance housed admiration, delight, and a desire to please.

Now the buildings of HalloweenTown were very much like the folk that called it home. Some rose up from the ground in the shapes of hissing, glaring, snapping figures while others looked like the haunted houses imagined in many a horror story. However, it was a little plot of cobblestone and dirt in the eastern street corner of the square was where stood the eye catching structure that was deemed the town's eerie '_crown jewel_'. The main building was assembled with the uncanny likeness of a two story mausoleum of dark wood and ancient stone, with a spindly stone tower that shot out of its right side and added another two stories to the rather worrying form. A seemingly rocky staircase snaked the only known way up the impossibly thin cobblestone base and to the modest front porch of the manor, other features like its meek second floor balcony and small backyard garden actually helped humble the overall predator-like air of the home.

This was Skellington Manor, the legendary home of a family that had been a part of Halloween…well, since the very _**beginning**_.

Little Notes:

Innocence: Easter

Love: St. Valentine's Day

Gratitude: Thanksgiving

Faith: St. Patrick's Day

Courage: Independence's Day

Joy: Christmas

Fear: Halloween


	3. Not A Chap

The owners of FanFiction are planning on taking down stories that have lemons! Apparently, they don't believe that stories that have such mature stuff should be allowed. Its not our fault that such things are interesting to us. While my stories are safe so far many great stories aren't. Why should they get deleted for how they make their work? It is not like we do not give warning to those who might not like them. If they wanted to do something, they would just make a MA rating category that contains stuff like that, bellow is a petition that is signed by authors who share the same feelings we do. Read it, Sign it, and Pass it on.

Greetings to the fine folk that moderate our site.

Myself, along with many, have been writing and posting on your fine site for years now, some of the better examples of up and coming writers out there are now suddenly finding some of the stories we've come to love at risk of being removed without the chance to even rectify our errors.

For some, that means the permanent loss of a story. While I don't have anything that I believe violates your terms of use, there are those out there that are never able to recover a story in its original form, this is something I find to be almost worthy of a legal action, as while we cannot claim ownership of a character, the stories are OURS and simply destroying them is something that is inexcusable.

It's quite easy to simply add an MA rating, additional filters or even a simple requirement for a free membership to read the stories presented here, and would cut down on hateful anonymous reviews and posts at the same time, so I have to question as to why such a thing, in all this time, simply wasn't added.

If you're worried about falsification of a registration then have an appropriate disclaimer and then there can be no dispute, you took your steps and the PARENTS didn't monitor their children, if that is even your concern. If it is more of a personal view or desire then please at least let people know and give them a chance to remove a story that you and yours find offensive, most people on the site are actually rather cordial when it comes to such requests.

While I cannot say for sure if this letter will even reach those that may be willing to listen, of if it's more akin to a wide spectrum purge in preparation for something bigger, please understand that you are going to be looseing a LARGE number of your writers, and thus your income from a lack of readers if there is not some level of action taken to help with this situation.

For those that may agree with this, please feel free to sign on and send this to the support server, maybe we can get some movement on this.

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Were-jaguar of Halloween Town


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